The experience, which allows users to play the part of an official at a Western Kentucky University football practice, was a featured by Oculus VR project manager Andrew Mo during a talk about ways media companies are engaging readers with breakthrough experiences using breakthrough technology like augmented reality and virtual reality.

The You be the Ref experience, which was created by Courier Journal and the USA TODAY Network's virtual reality team using Facebook's React platform, recently won a first-place multimedia award in the Associated Press Sports Editors annual contest.